Attorney General Dana Nessel takes hard line in juvenile inmate rape cases
By Ted Roelofs (Bridge) For more than five years, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette was a brick wall defending the state against allegations that prison officials failed to protect juvenile inmates as young as 14 from being raped and assaulted when they were housed with adult prisoners. Schuette fought the 2013 juvenile inmate lawsuit up and down […]
Measures aim to end ‘surprise billing’ for Michigan medical patients
By Robin Erb (Bridge) In the tense hours at a Grand Rapids emergency room last year — as Lisa Grinzinger struggled to form words and a medical team scrambled to rule out a possible stroke — finances were far from top-of-mind. “I never even thought about it,” said her husband Mike Grinzinger, a retired chief […]
Emanuel church bell replaced in steeple
Who knew that bells had names? Well, they do. They’re engraved on the front of the bell, along with the manufacturer’s name and the date they were cast. Emanuel United Church of Christ on West Main Street, actually has two bells–one of which is named “Concordia” and its smaller companion, “Virginia.” Concordia, originally installed in […]
Commercial open house a success
After months of speculation about how the community could work to fill several empty downtown buildings, Manchester is making its move in a big way. A sense of excitement and optimism was evident at the Two Black Sheep restaurant on Friday morning, and it continued throughout the day as several local realtors and building owners […]
Manchester native completes 48 of 50 marathons
When you’re 10 years out of high school and looking for something new to do, you come up with some crazy ideas. Or maybe, if you were Mark Harris, you would even call it “stupid.” “It had been nearly 10 years since I was in an organized sport,” he explains. I had just turned 28 […]
A Sunday afternoon destination: MAHS museum and gift shop
While summer weekends are often reserved for fun outdoor activities, a Sunday afternoon in the fall and winter can seem long and dreary. That might be a good time to visit the Manchester area Historical Society Museum and gift shop on Main Street. Or, the blacksmith shop just a few doors down. The well-curated collection […]
When residents say ‘no’ to aerial mosquito spraying
By Michael Schulson/Undark (for Bridge) On a Friday afternoon in late September, Kalamazoo County Health Officer Jim Rutherford announced that aircraft would mist much of the county with an insecticidal spray. Intended to kill mosquitoes, the emergency plan quickly turned into a public relations battle. Hundreds of calls and emails — and even some threats […]
Michigan lawmakers want to expand tax break before it’s created a single job
By Jonathan Oosting (Bridge) LANSING — Debate is intensifying over plans to expand a $200 million tax incentive program for big businesses that proponents say has helped Michigan land planned investments, but not yet created a single job. The state has so far committed $168.3 million in future tax captures to five firms under the […]
Beyond term limits: 5 ‘good government’ ideas eyed by Michigan reformers
By Jonathan Oosting (Bridge) LANSING — An unlikely coalition eyeing changes to the state’s term limits law is working to break a legislative logjam on government reform proposals in a state notorious for failing grades on ethics and transparency. Voters Not Politicians, the grassroots group that successfully pushed an anti-gerrymandering ballot proposal last fall, is discussing a suite of reform ideas […]
John Conyers Jr., champion of Detroit and civil rights, dies at 90
By Joel Kurth (Bridge) Former U.S. Rep. John Conyers Jr., a liberal stalwart, champion of Detroit and one of the longest-serving members in Congress, died Sunday at his home in Detroit. He was 90. Elected in 1964 at the height of the civil rights movement, Conyers served 53 years and was the longest-serving African-American in […]
